I’m a big fan and user of online savings accounts (also called high-yield savings accounts or HYSAs) as part of my overall financial strategy.
Once we decide whether or not we want to incorporate online savings accounts into our financial picture, it’s time to choose an account. Here’s what to look for.
It’s easier than ever to split a meal or a vacation with a friend using apps like Venmo and Zelle. But with that ease comes a whole new microcosm of navigating money with friends and colleagues.
What’s worth requesting? When is it time to follow-up when a friend doesn’t pay you? We asked the Fiscal Femme community to share their cash app etiquette so we could learn from each other! 💵📱
Tax season is coming to a close, which means many will soon have refunds, if not already. We talk a lot about taxes -- how to file them, how to minimize them and how to plan for them, but another really important part of tax planning is making the best use of your refund.
If you’ve filed and know exactly how much you’re getting back, here’s a step-by-step recommendation for making the most of your tax refund.
Those that know me know that I hate the word budget. And I’m not shy about it. Hearing the word actually makes me cringe and conjures up images of my favorite expenses being ripped from my hands while I’m holding on to them for dear life. It’s a word full of restriction.
Many believe that sticking with a budget means that they’ll have to limit their fun but I’ve found the opposite to be true. That’s why I decided to swap the term budget for happiness allocation.
A few summers ago, we took our son on his first overseas trip to England. We decided to go because one of my best friends had just moved to London and as part of our nanny share arrangement (2 kids, 1 nanny) we coordinated vacation time with our wonderful share family so the nanny got some time off.
But with new child expenses (our son starting preschool in the fall) and investing in my business, I was torn about whether or not to take the trip. I had “YOLO” on one shoulder and our savings goals on the other shoulder and they were saying very conflicting things!
There are a lot of similarities between saving and giving. The biggest one? We wait to get started because we assume it will be easier once we earn more.
We get the promotion and the raise, prioritize paying everyone else first, and then there’s still no money leftover for us to save or give.
Or maybe we feel like our twenty dollars a month won’t do much. But much like with saving, it’s about using the muscle. When we start, we begin to view ourselves as someone who gives. We get the ball rolling, momentum builds.
One of the jargon phrases that often gets thrown around in the personal finance world is net worth. Sometimes it’s not mentioned explicitly but when someone says the word “millionaire” or “billionaire,” they are referring to someone’s net worth.
So how do we calculate our net worth? What does net worth mean? It’s actually a very simple equation - it’s a total of what we own minus a total of what we owe. I’ve put together a Net Worth Tracker to make it as easy as possible for you to calculate your net worth and keep track of it going forward. You can also create your own spreadsheet or just write it down - whatever is easiest for you.
When we are saving up to buy a home, it’s common to focus on the down payment. If we’ve managed to save 20% for the down payment then we’re all set, right? Not quite.
The down payment is typically the largest investment, but there are plenty of other costs that come along with it. And as we save for the purchase of a home, we’ll want to factor in all of those costs so that we're set up for success.
Regardless of how much or how little money we have, we only get to use each dollar once. I know… bummer.
Once we realize that, it becomes easier to navigate our spending. We understand that every time we use a dollar, we miss out on the opportunity to use it somewhere else. That’s called opportunity cost.
We deal with opportunity costs all day every day. When I choose a restaurant for dinner, I don’t get to eat at all the other restaurants I didn’t choose. When I say yes to a project, I don’t have the opportunity to use that time for something else.
